The Surrender
by TreeofStars
Summary: Set after the Mid-Season 3 Finale. Spoilers if you haven't seen it! This is just my take on what *could* happen after 3x08.


There is chaos in the yard.

Carl runs into the cell block, breathless, and hands Judith over to me. I call after him and ask what is going on, and my blood runs cold when he calls back, "Andrea."

I don't know what that could mean. Could she really have survived all these months on her own? How did she find us if she did? And if she was...

No.

I'm not going there.

Beth enters the block, her arms full of laundry. I motion for her to drop it quickly so I can hand the baby over to her. I need to be outside.

The sun is high and bright in the sky and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust. I can see the group gathered at the gate, weapons lowered but not holstered. As I get closer I see a shock of blonde hair. It _is_ Andrea, on the other side of the gate.

And she's not alone.

I stop, my body frozen. My legs stop, my heart stops.

It's only his voice, carried across the yard, that gets me moving again. I break into a run, my eyes only on Daryl.

I didn't know what to think when he didn't come back with the others. No one knew what happened to him. There were so many variables, his brother being the biggest one. Would Merle be a savior or a curse to his brother? Had he even survived the attack on the town to make a difference either way?

But none of it matters now. I reach the fence, my eyes quickly sweeping the field beyond. There are a few walkers in the distance. None a threat to Andrea or Daryl yet.

The pounding of my heart in my ears quiets enough for me to hear what is being said. But my eyes never leave Daryl.

"How do we know he didn't send you here to do his bidding? Be his inside man?" This from Rick, his face inches from Andrea's.

"You know me, Rick. My loyalties will always be with this group."

Daryl's eyes shift to mine for a split second, and then return to Rick. "Can we discuss this inside the yard?" His arm gestures behind him to the advancing walkers.

Rick moves to open the gate, allowing Daryl inside but blocking Andrea's entry. "No weapons. You surrender them here, or you stay out."

Andrea rolls her eyes. "Feels like I never left."

Daryl is keyed up. I can see him pacing out of the corner of my eye as I watch Maggie pat down Andrea. Glenn and Carl keep their weapons at the ready until Maggie finishes.

Rick turns to Daryl. "What happened?"

"I got ambushed. Took my crossbow." His eyes dart up and down, signaling to me that he's not telling the whole truth. "Merle's dead. And I would be too, if it wasn't for her." He nods his head in Andrea's direction.

"What about this Governor? He still alive?"

Andrea nods. "He wants to take the prison."

"Alright. Maggie, Glenn, I want you in the tower," Rick says.

"Get me something to shoot, I'll keep watch."

All eyes shift to Daryl. Rick nods in uneasy agreement. "Lets go inside, get you armed."

~~~~~

It is chaos of a different sort in the cell block.

Judith is crying. Beth is walking back and forth, bouncing her a little too hard in her frustration. Carl goes to her, checks on her, but immediately returns to his station at his father's side. He is a soldier first.

Daryl heads up to the perch with Rick, his hands greedy for a weapon.

Beth steals my attention. "Carol, the bouncing trick isn't working this time."

I cross to her and see the many questions about Andrea and Daryl in her eyes. I focus on the baby, putting my hand on Beth's shoulder to slow her motion. "Slower. Remember - Brahms Lullaby, not Maroon 5."

I can't tell from her expression if I've gotten the current music reference correct or not, but she understands my meaning and slows her bouncing tempo. I stand with her as Judith settles, my eyes going up to the perch. Rick is coming down the stairs, Daryl is nowhere in sight.

The tale Andrea tells is horrifying. I listen to her describe the walker pit, and how the Governor put both Daryl and Merle inside. Herschel catches my eye just then, nodding discreetly to the cells on the top of the block.

I have heard enough.

I climb the stairs to the perch, and step over the mess Daryl has already managed to make in the mere minutes he's been back. The first cell is empty, but I find him in the second one, his back to me. His shoulders tense when he hears my footsteps, but relax ever so slightly as I step closer to him.

I am not afraid of him, but I am afraid that he will run away, like startled prey. I open my mouth to speak, but I can think of no words that would matter.

"It was me or him. I did what I had to do."

My fists clench at my sides, my hands eager to reach for him.

"I'm sorry." The words sound so empty in the space between us.

"I'm not." His voice is a whisper.

I bite my lip as I reach for him with a shaky hand. A ghost of a touch, just on his shoulder. I think I do it more for myself than for him.

But he doesn't move from my touch. He sighs, a nearly inaudible sound that I almost feel rather than hear. His shoulders slump in defeat, but it's only this one battle he's willing to lose.

My hand tightens on the leather of his vest, and he turns to me. His face gives away nothing. He just watches me close the distance between us, my arms winding around his neck. He is as still as a statue. My greedy hands grip fistfuls of his vest, my nose burrows deeper into his neck. He smells like sweat, dirt, and leather, just like he always has. I fight to bite back a sob, but I am too late. The sound spurs him into action, his own arms finally coming up to wrap around me. My eyes close in relief.

Time stops as we hold each other, his slight trembling breaking my heart. I want to tell him how strong he is for showing his weakness in this moment, but I know I can't. He buries his face into my shoulder, his grip on me growing tighter. If I still believed in God I would thank him for the feel of Daryl's shaky breath on my skin.

"Lunch is ready!"

Beth's call from below startles us both, and we find ourselves looking at each other for the first time since I entered his cell. The look in his eyes is one I have never seen before. There is so much there it's almost too much to comprehend. I feel myself smiling softly, my hands sliding down to his chest.

"You'll eat before you go on watch," I say.

He nods, bowing his head, and I kiss him on the forehead. He allows the gesture, his hands squeezing my hips in response before he releases me and turns to grab his rifle from the cot. The loss of him is immediate and overwhelming, and I wonder how one can grow to need something they never had before so quickly.

"You watchin the little asskicker this afternoon?"

I realize then that he doesn't know the baby has a real name. "They've named her Judith."

He tilts his head and shrugs. "If you're not watching her, I could use another pair of eyes in the tower."

I nod. "Beth and Herschel can handle her this afternoon."

There's a smile in his eyes, but it does not reach his lips. He exits the cell, mumbling as he walks away. "Little Asskicker is a much better name..."

I smile to myself before following him downstairs.


End file.
